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Malaysian police warn robot conference: 'Don't be ridiculous, it's not our culture'

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M'sian police issues warning to organisers of upcoming 'Love and Sex with Robots' conference

The international "Love and Sex with Robots" conference, scheduled to be held in Iskandar, Malaysia, is illegal, said the Malaysian police.

The organiser of the event, which is supposed to run from Nov 16 to 19, has been warned not to proceed with it, said Malaysia's Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Khalid Abu Bakar.

"Don't try to be ridiculous," he told journalists on Tuesday, The Star reported. He added that there was "nothing scientific about having sex with machines".

He said: "It is not our culture. We can take action against the organiser if they choose to hold the event."

Last Monday, the organiser had updated its website at loveandsexwithrobots.org that the event will take place in Iskandar, Johor.

But no local or international contact number was listed. E-mails to the two speakers at the event were also unanswered.

In a statement, Iskandar Regional Development Authority said they neither supported nor promoted the event.

IGP Khalid also warned if the organisers decided to go ahead with the programme despite his warning, he would take action even if no police report is lodged, Malay Mail Online reported.

He said: "There are a lot of laws that we can use. We will see what they organise and then take action accordingly."

Australian portal news.com.au reported earlier this month that academics will gather in Malaysia for a "Love and Sex with Robots" conference to dissect the legal, ethical and moral issues on the topic.

Meanwhile, co-chair of the event, City University London Prof Adrian David clarified on Saturday that the workshop was not intended to promote any form of sexual relationship between humans and machines.

He was also quoted saying the workshop was one of four that were scheduled to be held during the Advances in Computer Entertainment Conference (ACE 2015).

The other workshops planned were animal computer interaction, multi-model computer sensing and a children's workshop on how to use computer games as a teaching tool.

The congress is said to be part of the Advances in Computer Entertainment Technology 2015 Conferences, while the website also features the logos of the Association for Computing Machinery and the society for human-technology and human-computer interaction.

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